Nice, inoffensive, perhaps a little bland. That’s how the world sees Canada, at least when it comes to our whisky.

Where once Canada was a worldwide whisky powerhouse, in recent decades we’ve become better known for sweet, easy-to-mix blended whiskies. But that’s about to change.

Canadian whisky has become a pop culture phenomenon, thanks to television shows like AMC’s Mad Men and HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. But more importantly, the liquid itself is attracting new fans as everyone from the smallest artisan distillers to the biggest bulk producers steps things up with a new range of premium products.

“I think we’re going to continue to see a trend to handcrafted, small-batch Canadian whiskies,” says Rob Tucker, the senior brand ambassador for Beam Canada, which distributes Canadian Club and Alberta Premium. “The Canadian whisky category is just starting to see the tip of the iceberg.”

Almost every one of Canada’s craft distillers is working on a whisky, but even the big players are thinking small these days. Wisers has its Small Batch, Canadian Club its 12 Year Old Classic, Brown Forman its maplewood-finished Collingwood and Crown Royal its Extra Rare, all carefully handcrafted by producers otherwise known largely for bulk production.

As Andrew McKay, Crown Royal’s master blender, says, “The small-batch drink is there to link to the style and tradition of the past.”

He compares what’s happening with Canadian whisky now to what happened in Scotland starting in the 1990s.

For several decades before that, sales of whisky had plummeted and many distilleries closed. But those who survived found themselves sitting on huge stocks of exceptional aged whiskies, which they gradually released in limited quantities.

The result, McKay says, “was the premiumization of the Scotch industry. Then it ricocheted across the pond to the bourbon industry.” And now, it seems, it’s Canada’s turn.

Earlier this year, Crown Royal released the last bottles of its Extra Rare, which retails for a luxe $175.29 in B.C. This ultrasmooth blended whisky, with its flavours of vanilla, toffee and Christmas spices, includes the last few precious drops from the famous Waterloo distillery that burned down.

“We always used the Waterloo stuff as the gold standard,” says McKay. “Now it’s all gone. It’s a bit poignant in a way.”

Meanwhile, Canada’s most underrated producer, Alberta Distillers, home to the terrific 100-per-cent rye Alberta Premium, has recently introduced Dark Horse, a small-batch, pot-stilled, 91-per-cent rye whisky aged in heavily charred oak barrels, which retails for $28.99. With its powerful flavours of vanilla, smoke, spices and dried fruits, this may be the richest-tasting Canadian whisky produced to date.

“It was time to continue the trend toward bolder, richer flavours, moving away from the weaker mixable ryes in the category,” says Tucker.

Not only is the style of Canadian whisky changing, so is the typical drinker.

Where once whisky drinkers skewed older and male, now men and women of all ages are enjoying its complex flavours.

That’s thanks in part to a generation of talented bartenders who have revived classic whisky cocktails like the Manhattan. But it’s also thanks to some savvy marketing and good timing on the part of brands such as Canadian Club.

“The last two years, with the help of Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men, it’s made a huge difference,” says Tish Harcus, CC’s brand ambassador and historian based in Walkerville, Ont. “Don Draper, God love him, he loves his Canadian Club. And we love him.”

CC was one of the world’s biggest distillers right up to the 1960s, when whisky simply went out of fashion.

“It was a staple,” Harcus says. “If you lived in the United States or Canada, you had CC in the cupboard. It really was the go-to brand of whisky.”

Now, though, there is a fascination with all things retro.

And while new consumers are attracted to the pop culture hipness of the brand, connoisseurs are discovering its more premium offerings, like the small-batch 12 Year Old Classic, a mellow, sweetly spiced whisky that sells for $25.25.

It’s a trend that will only continue. After all, there isn’t a distiller in Canada who isn’t working on something exciting for next year, and the year after, and the year after that.

“We need to ensure that Canadian whisky is not thought about in one little box,” Tucker says. “The liquid can be so much more than people expect it to be.”

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